congress returns from summer recess on monday. the house will turn to a federal spending in 2013 and the reauthorization of the foreign intelligence surveillance act. and an appointment for iowa. live coverage of the house on c- span and the senate on c-span2. in four weeks, the first of the presidential debates, live on c- span, c-span radio, and c- span.org. watch and engage. next, vice-president joe biden and president obama in new hampshire. then a campaign yvette with mitt romney then a discussion of the august jobs report. president obama and vice- president joe biden along with first lady michelle obama and jill biden travel to ports mouth, new hampshire.

this is one hour, 15 minutes. >> what a great crowd. you all are terrific. , that wead you're here are all here to welcome the president, barack obama, the first lady, michelle obama. and vice president joe biden. and it jill biden.

to the greatest state in the nation. we are so excited to have the fab four in new hampshire. they have come here crash of their fantastic season in charlotte. this reminded us again of how very proud we are to have barack obama but as our president and michelle obama as our first lady. you know, president obama is fighting for what democrats have always fought for, and economy grounded in middle-class

prosperity, an economy built to last. president obama knows that this is a make or break moment for the middle class. in order for the middle class to thrive, we need to restore the basic values of fairness and balance that have made this country so great. [applause] values that say, if you work hard, if you play by the rules, you should be able to afford to buy a home, send your kids to college, have a secure retirement, to know that the next generation is going to be better off than this generation. [applause] president obama's that these are our values, and this president has had the courage to tackle some really tough issues. he ignored the critics and he

stepped up and rescue the auto industry. [applause] saving over 1 million jobs, 26,000 jobs right here in new hampshire depended on the auto industry. [applause] don't repealed don't ask, tell. [applause] so that you never again have to lie in order to serve the country that you love. [applause] he tackled immigration reform and he made the tough decision to allow children who have grown up in the united states who have been educated in our schools, to give them the opportunity to stay here. you know, wouldn't we rather be

known as a country of dreamers, than a country of illegal aliens? [applause] and as we saw last night, this is the commander in chief who finally brought osama bin laden to justice. [applause] now that is presidential leadership. but even before barack obama was elected president, we knew he was going to be a great leader. we knew it when he chose joe biden as his running mate. [applause] joe was the perfect choice, because like the president, he had lived the american dream, going from humble middle-class

roots, to the united states senate, to the vice presidency of the united states. [applause] and we all know from his incredible speech last night that he has been side by side with the president's, fighting to make sure that we open the doors of opportunity for all americans, working to create good jobs and to invest in education, to make health care and retirement and schools affordable for everyone. it is what he has fought for his entire career. [applause] and we know joe biden is also a very smart guy. we know this because we have met the woman that he married. jill biden, isn't she great?

[applause] when she and michelle got together to support military families, they made this country so proud, and they have made such a great difference for military families across this country. [applause] now, i do have to tell you that i do have one problem with barack obama's choosing joe biden as his vice president, and that was that i never got to serve with him in the united states senate. but i am very proud to be here, to introduce our vice president, a person that is one of new hampshire's greatest friends, who has been a great vice-president, joe biden.

[applause] ♪ >> hi, everybody! hello, new hampshire. >> joe, joe, joe! >> thank you. i just want to say one thing that you already know. this woman is everything anyone could hope for a senator to be.

[applause] and besides, she is my friend. i love you. thank you. billy, where are you? there he is. if i got to be in a foxhole, i want him in there with me. it is good to be back. wasn't the president incredible last night? [applause] doesn't it make you proud to be an american? [applause] folks, the president and i have become friends. i know this guy. he has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and he has a spine of steel. [applause]

and there is not a day that i can say this with all honesty -- not a day that has gone by in the last four years and i have not been grateful, not as a vice president, but as an american, that this man had been our president. [applause] and there is a simple reason why. i was asked after i spoke last night why? because guy has the courage to make the tough calls. almost all the calls today are tough. ladies and gentlemen, whether it is education, health care, medicare, ending the war in iraq, bringing an end to the war in afghanistan, we need a man with a steady hand in good judgment. folks, the president is going to level the playing field and get the middle class back in the game. [applause] it has already started. because he knows in his gut, and this is not hyperbole, the middle-class is what built this country and what made it great.

he knows. and he knows something our opponents either have forgotten or never knew. america is not in decline. [applause] let me say again to our opponents. gentlemen, it is never ever been a good bet to bet against the american people. [applause] i have learned about this guy, which you already know, he only knows one speed, one direction, forward. ladies and gentlemen, speaking of moving forward,, to introduce a friend of mine. a guy for whom i have an enormous amount of respect for his integrity and ability. he also has had to make and has made the tough calls for new

hampshire, and new hampshire is much better off because of him. folks, the guy i'm about to introduce has a lot in common with the man he will introduce. new hampshire is better off because of the governor, and america is better off because of the president. ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to john lynch and the first lady of new hampshire, dr. susan lynch. give it up for them. [applause] ♪ ♪

>> good afternoon, everybody. what a great crowd. susan and i are delighted to be able to join you today. hi. [laughter] and we are very honored to have president obama and our terrific first lady michelle obama here with us as well. [applause] and you have heard from vice- president joe biden, and although his great white dr.

jill biden is also with us today, here in portsmouth. now, i am sure they like north carolina, but we know they love new hampshire. [applause] new hampshire is a key to the reelection of the president and vice-president. and we will again show this nation that new hampshire knows how to pick presidents of the united states. [applause] this upcoming election is so important to our state and to our nation, but before i talk about the election, i just have to say it again. in new hampshire, we live in the greatest state in thein new hamn

the greatest state in the greatest country in the world. [applause] we are the safest state in the nation, one of the most livable states, and the best state in the country in which to raise children. [applause] we have one of the lowest unemployment rates, one of the most highly educated work forces, and we are one of the healthiest states in the country. [applause] and we are a great state, because over the decades, we have worked together, democrats, republicans, independents, to craft a successful economic strategy that has made as a national leader in almost every area. we have worked together to move new hampshire for word. president barack obama understands that america works best when we all work together. [applause]

and over the last two years the spirit of cooperation has been largely missing from public discourse. partisan bickering is at an all- time high in washington. vigorous debate is important, but our citizens expect all of us to behave with dignity and with respect. [applause] president obama understands that the people expect their elected officials to work together, to make progress on the issues that matter most to them, improving education, increasing access to health care, and getting more of our people back to work. [applause]

and that is why we need to work hard, to ensure that we reelect president barack obama. [applause] what makes the president such a strong leader is that he cares about people. he understands, as a leader, you treat people with dignity and respect. he understands the value of honesty and integrity. he understand that america should be a place of opportunity for all of our people, and not just a few of our people. [applause] and that is why his strategy for moving our country forward is focused on investing in our greatest asset, our people. he wants to insure everyone who wants a job can get a job here in america.

[applause] that you can get the health care you need when you are sick. that your kids get the best education possible, and that the american dream continues to be in the reach of everyone who has the desire to want to work hard to reach that american dream. [applause] making smart investments in our people will help continue to lift this nation out of the economic recession and continued to move us forward. president obama has a clear vision for america and he has the passion, commitment, and leadership to get the job done. [applause] now nearly five years ago, our nation began to experience the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

think about it. the worst economic crisis since the great depression. make no mistake, this recession was devastating to families and businesses across our great nation. our workers lost their jobs, companies shut their doors. to many families lost their homes, their health insurance, and their savings. we were hurting, and we were searching for hope. and here is where the president made a tough decision and provided the leadership that not only rescue the nation from the brink of economic disaster, but now has us moving forward. the president's economic policies cut taxes for the middle-class, ensuring every working family in america received a tax cut. [applause] he worked to extend much-needed and unemployment benefits. his actions helped 1 million

families avoid foreclosure and allow them to stay in their homes. he took action to save the american auto industry, and just look at the results today. [applause] and he made a tremendous investment in our nation's infrastructure. all of these policies kept people working, kept economic disaster at bay, and begin the recovery. because of president obama's leadership, we have come a long way in just four years, but we have a long way to go. is there more work to be done? of course there is more work to be done. that is why we need president obama to continue the job he started and keep working for us

for the next four years. [applause] >> four more years! four more years! >> president obama will make sure that we have a strong middle-class. president obama will keep investing in our workers to grow our economy and middle- class. president obama will insure we are caring for our most vulnerable citizens, children, those with disabilities, and seniors. president obama will make sure our children see the best education possible. president obama will continue to ensure anyone who wants to work for it can still reach the american dream. [applause] now, first lady michelle obama, who gave a great speech at the convention --

[applause] she said so well, she said, the president believes that when you work hard and have done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. he reached back and you give other folks the same chance of that help you succeed. i say we keep that door open by reelecting barack obama. [applause] and now, it is our pleasure and our honor to introduce the 44th president of the united states of america, president barack obama. [applause] ♪

>> hello, new hampshire! [applause] it is good to be back in

portsmouth. it is great to be with your outstanding gov. john lynch. who, like me, had the good judgment to marry up. we love susan as well. one of the best centers in the country, jeanne shaheen. your mayor eric spear. and your next congresswoman carol j. porter and and the customer. it is good to see all of you. [applause] it is great to be back in portsmouth. i was telling john -- i love you back. [applause]

i was telling john i will always have great memories of portsmouth because one of the things that happens as you are running for president is the bubbles start closing in on you. i still remember some of the last places where i got to take a walk with nobody around. portsmouth, in 2007, was one of those places. it was a gorgeous day, like today. we walked and we came right down here. there was a theater, an improv thing going on. i think i may have bought some ice cream. which reminds me, by the way, the leanne and sasha love new hampshire, not only because this is where they go to camp. but it is also where they first campaigned with us, and i think the first day of campaigning, and they got ice cream four times in a row. [applause]

today, they turned to michelle and me and said, we love this campaigning thing. we want to campaign with you all the time. [laughter] now, i have just come from charlotte, where we had a great convention. [applause] folks down there could not have been more welcoming. michelle was amazing. [applause] president clinton -- [applause] made the case in the way that only he can. somebody e-mail me after the speech and said, you need to appoint him secretary of explaining stuff. [laughter] that is pretty good. i like that.

secretary of explaining stuff. splainin'. joe biden was fired up. [applause] and i meant what i said at the convention. i could not have a better vice- president. as importantly, i could not have a better and more loyal friend and joe biden. he is a wonderful, wonderful man. [applause] and last night i did my best to lay out the stakes in the selection. -- in this election. you see, now that both sides have made their argument, there is a big choice to make. and i honestly believe this is the biggest joys, the clearest choice of any time in our generation. because it is not just a choice between two candidates or two political parties, it is a

choice between two different paths for america. two fundamentally different vision for how we move forward. ours is a fight for the basic bargain that build the largest middle-class and the strongest economy the world has ever known. the promise that hard work will pay off, that responsibilities will be rewarded, that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone doing their fair share, everyone playing by the same rules, from wall street, to main street, to washington, d.c. that basic bargain is why i ran for president and why i am running again. that is what this election is about. that is what this election is about. i mentioned last night, i got my start in service because i

worked with folks who had been laid off from a steel plant when jobs started getting shipped overseas. over the last 10 years we have seen that happen more and more, too many families struggling, costs keeping rising even when paychecks to not. people have to use their credit cards or home equity loans to make the mortgage or pay tuition or put gas in the car or food on the table. that is why this house of cards collapsed in the great recession. millions of innocent americans losing their jobs and their homes, folks losing their life savings.

we are fighting to recover from that. it is a long, tough journey. but our friends at the republican convention, they talked a lot about what they thought was wrong with america. they did not tell you what was right. they did not tell you what they would do to make it right. they want your vote, but they do not want to show you their plan. that is because they know their plan will not sell. because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they have had for the last 30 years. tax cuts, tax cuts, but some regulations. and more tax cuts. tax cuts when times are good, tax cuts when times are bad. tax cuts to help you lose a few extra pounds. tax cuts to improve your love life. it will cure anything, according to them. now, let me tell you something.

[cheers and applause] listen, i have cut taxes for people who need it, middle-class families. small-business owners. in 2008 i promised that i would slash taxes for middle-class families. i kept that promise. we have cut taxes for small businesses 18 times. but i do not believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires is what is going to bring good jobs back to our shores or pay down our deficit. i do not believe firing teachers or taking students off financial aid will grow our economy, not when china is producing more engineers and science, and we have to compete with them.

after we were on the brink of financial meltdown because of irresponsible decisions made on wall street, i do not believe rolling back regulations is somehow going to help small businesswomen and businessmen expand, or laid-off construction workers get back to work. we have been there. we have tried what they're selling. it is not going to work now, we are not going back, we are moving forward. that is why you are all here today. i am not going to pretend that this path is quick or easy. by the way, i never have. as bill clinton reminded us on wednesday night, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that were building up over decades.

we know that. today we learned that after losing 800,000 jobs a month when i took office, business once again added jobs for the 30th month in a row, a total of 4.6 million jobs. but that is not good enough. we know it is not good enough. we need to create more jobs faster. we need to fill the hole left by this recession faster. we need to come out of this crisis stronger than when we went in. there is a lot more that we can do. when congress gets back to town next week, you need to send the message, go ahead and give middle-class families and businesses the confidence of knowing that their taxes will not go up next year. everybody agrees that we should not raise taxes on the middle class. let's go ahead and get that done now.

by the way, if the republicans are serious about being concerned about joblessness, we could create 1 million new jobs right now if congress would pass the jobs plan that i sent to them a year ago. jobs for teachers, for construction workers, jobs for folks who have been looking for work for a long time. we can do that. but i need your help. i need your voices. i appreciate that. i need you to get your cousins and your friends and your co- workers. look, i am not just asking for your vote, i am asking the entire country to rally around a set of goals for our country. goals of manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit. this is a real achievable plan.

it will lead to new jobs and more opportunity and rebuild its economy on a stronger foundation. that is what we can do in the next four years. that is why i am running for second term as president to finish the job, to keep moving forward. to build on the progss we made. so let me be a little more specific. i have got a plan to export more products. not outsource jobs. after a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last 2.5 years. we have reinvented a dying auto industry that is back on top of the world. we can start rewarding country -- companies putting americans back to work, selling products around the world. [applause] we can help factories and small businesses double their exports. we can create a million new

manufacturing jobs in the next four years. you can make that happen, but i will need your help. second, i have a plan to control more of our own energy. after 30 years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so by the middle of the next decade, your cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. that will save your money -- that will save you money. that will save you money. we have doubled our use of renewable energy -- solar, wind, biofuels. tens of thousands of americans have jobs today because they are building wind turbines, long-lasting batteries.

they did not mention the united states of america is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades. the other side wants to reverse that progress. i want to build on it. i'm not going to let oil companies dictate the country's energy plan. i do not want them to keep collecting $4 billion a year in corporate welfare from our taxpayers. we have a better plan. we want to keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal technology. we want to see farmers and scientists harness biofuels to power our cars and trucks. i want construction workers sitting at home right now

building homes and factories retrofitting those that are are rebuilt to save energy. we can develop a 100-year supply of natural gas right beneath our feet. if we choose this task, which can cut oil imports in half by 2020. we can support 600,000 new jobs in natural gas development alone. that is how we move forward. third, let's do it. let's do it. we can do this. we can do this. but, third -- i have got even more. [laughter] i have got a plan to give more americans the chance to gain the skills they need to compete. education -- i would not be

standing here if i had not gotten a great education. michelle would not be here without the opportunities she had. we did not come from wealth or fame or power, in this country we have always made a commitment that if you have talent and are willing to work hard, somebody is going to give you the opportunity to get a great education, and then you can go as far as your genes can take you. it is the gateway to a middle- class life in the 21st century. what have we already done? the average state has entered our call to raise the standards of teachers and learning. some of the worst schools in the country have seen real gains in math and reading. millions of students are paying less for college because we took on a system where money was going to the banks and lenders.

we said cut out the middleman and give the money directly to students so they get a better deal. so now you have got a choice. we can cut our commitment to education like the other side's budget would end up doing. or we can decide here in america, no child should give up grades because the classroom is overcrowded. no family should set aside the college acceptance letter because they figure they cannot afford it. and no company should be looking for the workers they need overseas because they cannot find them at home. new hampshire, i need you to help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers and

improved early childhood education and get 2 million workers the skills they need at community colleges and help colleges and universities cut tuition in half over the next 10 years. we can meet these goals together. that is the america that we want for our kids. forward, forward. i need four more years, and we are going to move forward. my plan would reduce our debt without sticking it to the middle class. the debt and the deficit are real medium and long-term problems, and we will have to address it. i want to get working. independent analysis shows my plan would cut our deficit by $4 trillion.

th a "t."h i want to reform our tax code so it is simple and fair, and so it asks the wealthiest households in america to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000. even well-to-do folks would keep their tax breaks up to $250,000, but after that we want to go back to the same rates we had when bill clinton was president, our economy created 22 million new jobs then. we had the biggest surplus in history and created a lot of new millionaires to boot. we created an environment with greater success all across the economy. that is what we are fighting for.

you know, my opponent says he wants to reduce the deficit, too. but, as was pointed out at the convention, there is a basic component missing from his plan -- math. arithmetic. when governor romney tells us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks skewed towards the wealthy, the math does not work. you cannot dig yourself a deeper hole, take $5 trillion out of the treasury and make that work. most of them involve sticking it to the middle class. i refuse to ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or

raising kids just to pay for another millionaire's tax cuts. i refuse to ask students to pay more for college or kick children out of head start programs, eliminate health insurance for millions of americans who are poor, elderly, or disabled. all so folks like me and mr. romney can pay less. you should not have to spend your golden years -- you should retire with dignity and respect. you have earned it. yes, we need to reform and strengthen medicare for the long haul, but we have to do it by reducing the actual cost of health care, not by dumping those costs on to seniors who

pay thousands of dollars more. that is not how we are going to do it. and we will keep the promise of social security by taking responsible steps to strengthen it, but we will not privatize it or turn it over to wall street. we're not going to do that. rebuilding the economy is essential, but our prosperity at home is linked to what we do abroad. four years ago i promised to end the war in iraq, and we did. i said we would wind down the war in afghanistan, and we are. a new tower rises above the new york skyline. we have decimated al qaeda's leadership and osama bin laden. now moving forward, as commander in chief, i will sustain the strongest military

world has ever known. we are going to make sure we have a strong navy, and what goes on here, all across the country, where we have people not only in uniform but also folks who are working -- we have to make sure they have our support. when our troops take off their uniform, we are going to serve them as well as they have served us. because nobody who fights for this country should never have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads or the care they need when they come home. my opponent said it was tragic, the war in iraq. i disagree. he will not tell us his plan for the war in afghanistan.

i have and i will. while my opponents would say they would spend more money than the joint chiefs would say, i will use that money that we are no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work -- rebuilding our roads, bridges, schools, runaways. it is time to do more nation- building right here at home. right here in new hampshire. that is the choice that we now face. that is what this election comes down to. we keep on getting told that bigger taxes and fewer regulations are the only path to prosperity.

i do not believe that. i do not believe that if you cannot afford health insurance, you are on your own. companies that released toxic pollution in the air that your children brief, that somehow that is a requirement for economic growth. i do not believe that if you cannot afford to go to college, that the best we can do is tell you to borrow money from your parents. that is not who we are. that is not what this country is about. we insist on personal responsibility, on individual initiative. we know we are not entitled to success. we know we have got to earn it. we honor entrepreneurs and business people, the strivers, researchers, and risktakers. the idea that we have obligations to each other and that when we work together, we all do better could we have obligations to future generations.

that america is not just about what can be done for us, it is about what can be done by us, together, as one nation and one people. new hampshire, the election four years ago was not about me, it was about you. it sounds like you're listening because you are here. you are the change, the reason there is a little girl with a heart disorder who will get the surgery she needs because now the insurance companies cannot limit her coverage. you are the reason some young person out there is going to be able to go to medical school,

because now they can afford it. you made that possible. you are the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and pledged allegiance to our flag will not be deported from the only home they have ever known. you are the reason why we are able to end don't ask, don't tell. you are the reason why thousands of family have been able to welcome brave troops, saying, "welcome home." you did that. and so now you cannot turn away. we cannot turn away now. you cannot give up on the idea that your vote does not make a difference because if you do give up, the lobbyists, the special interests will fill the void. the folks riding the $10 million checks, the folks running all these superpac adds, telling you who you can marry, saying to women that -- that is who will fill the void if you

are not in this, if you are not engaged, if you are not focused, if you are not fighting. we are going to have to work because this is going to be a close election. only you can make sure that we do not go backwards. only you have the power to move us forward. but i am asking you to use that power. i am asking you to use that power, i am asking you for your help. i need you to make some phone calls for me. i need you to knock on some doors for me. new hampshire, i need you to tell your friends and neighbors and co-workers what is at stake in this election.

if you are not registered to vote, i need you to register right now, and i need you to turn out in november because if you do, we will finish what we have started. we will create more good jobs, we will generate more home- grown energy, we will hire more good teachers, more young people to college, bring our troops home, open up the doors of opportunity to everybody who is willing to work hard. we will win rockingham county. we will win new hampshire. we will finish what we started and will remind the world why the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. [music plays]

♪ been knocking on the door on the path that leads me home we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever the flag is flown, we take care of our own from chicago to new orleans

we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own ♪ ♪ for the eyes, the eyes with the will to see where the hearts, that run over with mercy for the love has not forsaken me

were the work that sets my hands, my soul for a where is the spirit that will rain, rain over maine where is the promise, from sea to shining sea wherever this flag is flown wherever this flag is flown wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own we take care of our own we take care of our own where this flag is flown we take care of our own ♪

>> ♪ the sun coming up over new york city school bus driver in a traffic jam. looking at the promise of the

promised land one kid dreams of fame and fortune one kid helps pay the rent one could end up going to prison one just might be president only in america dreaming in red, white, and blue ♪

we all get a chance everybody gets to dance. only in america sun going down on the freeway newlyweds in the back of a limo a banker's daughter all they want is everything he wanted to sing in a band

they might go back to oklahoma and talk about the stars they could have been only in america dreaming in red, white, and blue if we can get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america only in america where we dream in red, white, and blue

only in america we all get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america ♪

♪

♪

♪

we will hear from mitt romney

on that he spoke a while ago in orange city, iowa.

>> please welcome the governor. >> thank you.

us if it's someone else's fault. americans cannot afford to continue the status quo. more americans have lost their jobs under president obama than in any other president since the great depression. the job numbers just came out

today for the month of august. another disappointing month with less than 100,000 new jobs. just this week, when the democrats were gathering at the convention, we saw the national debt go over 16 trillion dollars on monday of this week. thank you to president obama's fiscal responsible policy, we have seen our national debt to rise more than $5 trillion as he took office. we suffered through four straight years of trillion dollar plus deficits and an unprecedented downgrade of our nation's credit rating. 40 cents of every dollar the federal government is spending is borrowed money. we cannot continue to do that. you cannot do that.

the state cannot do that. the nation cannot afford to do that. i know this is conservative that country. death is not the way we need to go for this feature. -- that is not the way we need to go for this future. when president obama was a candidate, they -- he said it was unpatriotic to at trillions to the national debt. just look at the fiscal mismanagement that you have in the neighboring state of illinois, which is obama's home state. in illinois and now has the most public debt per capita of any state in the nation. they have the most unfunded liability for the republican employee pension system.

they are raising corporate and individual income tax and they are $4 billion in behind on paying their bills on time. with a republican governor in control of the house, we took a fiscal mess and that is straightened out. we have restored the money that was taken from the cash reserve. reproductive five years in advance. we have a sustainable budget. we will grow jobs in the iowa economy. barron's magazine came out with a rating of all 50 states in terms of their fiscal management

or mismanagement. i am pratt to say that i know of ranked second to south dakota. -- i am practice say that i know owa was ranked second to south dakota. i was -- illinois was second last to connecticut. we can do better. mitt romney will do better for america. he will do to america what republican governors have done to their state. look at indiana and michigan and wisconsin, all elected republican and governors in the last election. they have been reducing spending in taxes and regulation and growing our economy, a contrast to what obama is doing at the national level and his friends are doing in illinois.

mitt romney understands that massive debt is a huge drag on the american economy and our ability to create jobs and burdening our children and grandchildren. he believes in a path to america that result in less spending, less government, lower taxes, and more economic growth. on day one, mitt romney will implement deficit-reduction measures to in this era of current spending and debt. president mitt romney will go to the budget line item by line item with two questions -- can it?afford a ta we borrow money to pay for it? getting our fiscal house in order is not a moral imperative. we have a choice between two

visions of the future in this election. we can repeat the debt and spend policy of the past four years. we can repeat the unemployment levels of the past four years. we can turn this country around and rhetorically to restore the american dream for future generations. -- and restore the american dream for future generations. mitt romney will under -- rescue america like he did the olympics in salt lake city. he will cut spending, make government smaller and give us on a path to a balanced budget. he will create 12 million new jobs and reduce spending to less than 20% of the gdp and get america back on track. it is a great honor to welcome the next president of the united

states, mitt romney. ♪ [music plays] plays] thank you.

what a welcome. i will tell you that. thank you, orange city. mr. mayer. thank you, northwestern college. mr. president, thank you for students today. [cheers] branstad.

is it to record, a guy who was governor before, moved to the private sector, enjoying his for governor. created. thank you, governor terry branstad. conservative principles, who fight for the principles america was founded on. thank you. there, but i'm looking over the down the road a bit.

the history of the earth. america. if we restore those principles, roaring back. in the world. america. lech walesa. talk. is america's leadership? america must lead."

and there is no question of the principles of freedom and personal responsibility and the basis of america. and i will do it again. if you wanted to, to watch the his acceptance speech. i read that this morning. that. disappointing, surprisingly disappointed. series of lofty goals. kept.

for people. per family. business, people who wanted to business start-ups. remember his stimulus plan? unemployment below 8%. above 8%. and after he double that. one promise he kept. put it -- his energy plan was happened.

i was surprised by his address because i expected him to confront the major challenge of the last four years. which is an economy which has not produced the jobs that the mesh people need -- american people need. i exeblingted him to talk about 23 million people or at least to talk about the unemployed in america. i expected him to talk about the number of families having a hard time making ends meet. the number of middle income families who have seen the cost of health insurance go up. the cost of food go up. the cost of gasoline go up. even as their numbers have gone down. i expected him to talk about those numbers -- things. but he did not. instead it was a whole series of new promises which he also won't be able to keep. because the policies he believes in and the direction he's pulling will not make america stronger, if president obama were re-elected we would have four more years of the last four years and the

american people are going to say no to that. [cheers and applause] now there's something else you watched in the president's campaign over the past several months. and that is an increasingly divisive and dismissive approach to the american people . it's been a campaign of pitting one american geth against another. and it's so contrary to our national history and our national spirit. the zrry -- the story of america has become the one of many becoming one. it has been united people coming to build the strongest economy in the history of the world. the story of america has a united people that has

confronted unspeakable darkness and stopped it from spreading across the earth and the second world war. and fighting it again time and again when evil rears its head around the world. america's leadership has been needed and is needed today. that's been the story of america. people coming together. and one thing i can assure you is that if i'm president of the united states, i will stop this divisiveness and i will do everything in my power to unite the american people. now, you might have expected the president of the united states to lay on a plan for what he'd do to get the economy going again and get people working again. an he didn't do that last night. again that was surprising to me. i laid out the things i'm going to do to get this economy going. and let me tell you what they are. one by one. five things. you've heard me talk about them

before. i know what it takes to make jobs. let me tell what you they are. number one, i'm going to take full advantage of our energy resources. our coal, our oil, our gas, our nuclear, our renewables. [cheers and applause] and by doing that we become energy independent, north america does, by 2020. now, you might think, how do you get there? let me tell you some of the things you do. one, you take full advantage of what's known as tight oil. that's oil that's in tight formations and they pump in fluid to push it out, get more oil out. it also means taking advantage of that pipeline from canada, getting that oil coming down from canada.

it means turning the golf of mexico on so we get oil out of the golf. by the way, over the last four years, the president has cut the number of permits and licenses on federal land and in federal waters in half. i would double the number of licenses an permits so we get more oil and energy. and natural gas is our big ace in the whole. we got a lot of natural gas. that natural gas being brought to our transportation hubs, that natural gas being brought to places where now they don't have it, particularly in the manufacturing sector, is going to bring jobs back to america. so number one for me is taking advantage of our energy resources and that will put millions of americans back to work. number two -- [cheers and applause] and steve king, this man needs to be your congressman again.

i need him as my partner in washington, d.c. number two, i want to make sure that our workers have the skills for the jobs of today and that you young people have the skills you need for the jobs of tomorrow. and that ladder request that demand suggests that we finally have to make sure that our schools are run for the benefit of the students that, that we put the students and their parents and the teachers first and the teachers union, they're going to have to go behind. we've got to have our schools run for our kids. [applause] let me mention a third and that's trade. the third thing i'm going to do is really take advantage of trade opportunities. you see, america is the most productive nation on the planet for the major economic powers. that means we make more stuff per person than any other nation. and because we make more stuff per person we're the most productive and therefore it's

good for us to trade with other nations. as we do, we'll create more jobs. you know that here in iowa. you ship products, whether agricultural or manufactured or services, asheds the world. it creates jobs here in iowa to trade. and this president is the first since roosevelt, f.d.r., not to seek and receive trade promotion authority, to be able to work out new trade deals with other nations. i'm going to fight for the capacity to create new trade opportunities and because i spent my life in the private sector, 25 years, i understand what kind of deals are good for america and which aren't. so i'm going to make trade borker to -- work for america. by the way, if nations we trade with decide to take advantage of us unfairly and cheat, they'll be -- there will be consequences. i'll finally do what needs to be done to make sure that china doesn't cheat and take our jobs. [cheers and applause] number four, number four, and

this is one that is not just economic, it's also moral, as the governor said, and that is it is simply wrong for us, morally wrong for us, to continue to spend massively more than we take in year in and year out, knowing that my generation will never pay that back. it's all going to be passed on to your generation. we are killing the american dream for our children, it's wrong, it will stop if i'm president of the united states. [cheers and applause] i got one more. i got one more. and that's this. i'm going to champion small business. you see, i happen to understand how it is that small businesses get going.

and how it is they grow. as i was driving in to orange city, i saw a staples distribution facility there. a big sign said staples. i hope you saw that. as you know, i was one of those that helped finance the very first staples store. i remember going to the store the night before it opened and talking to the various folks that were putting various products on the shelf. we wonder, what would happen, would people come to our store or not? i remember talking to one of the founders and i said, what do we do if no one comes? he said, that's easy, lower prices and advertise more. and i said, well, what happens if they still don't come? he said, that's easy, lower prices some more and advertise some more. and so that little one store in a place called brighten, massachusetts, has now grown to be hundreds, thousands of stores worldwide with distribution centers here and all over the country. it's a remarkable story. it's the story of america, how individuals pursuing their dreams in fact built it

themselves and -- [cheers and applause] and by virtue of their dreams and the great nation that welcomes dreamers and the support of all the people who work in an enterprise like staples, they were able to create a business which employs about 90,000 americans today. so i know that to get americans back to work and to create the 12 million jobs i'm dedicated to creating, i have to create the conditions and the environment that encourages entrepreneurs and innovators and small business people to start businesses and to grow them. and for that to happen there are a couple of things i got to do. one, i want them to know that if they're successful, if they're one of the very few of the startups that actually makes it, that they'll be able to keep a good deal of their own profits, their own earnings, and be able to plow it into the business to grow. because if you raise taxes on

small business, a lot of them won't even start and those that do won't be able to grow. so for me, holding down taxes on small business is essential. and number two, i want regulators to know their job, yes, is to catch the bad guys. there will always be bad guys out there. you have to catch them. but you also have to recognize that your job is to encourage the good guys. regulators and regulations have to encourage small business, make it easier to grow, get behind our enterprises. [cheers and applause] and then if you really want to help small business, if you really want to help small business you have to take that cloud off of them. that cloud that's keeping so many small businesses from adding employment. the chamber of commerce carried out a survey. they asked businesses all over america, what's the impact of a particular piece of legislation and people came back, 75% of the people surveyed said, that piece of legislation keeps us from hiring people.

that legislation we have to get rid of is known as obamacare and i'm going to get rid of it. [cheers and applause] now, that doesn't mean, that doesn't mean that we're not going to make improvements to our health care system. we know that health care's too expensive. obamacare doesn't make it less expensive. when the president ran for office, he said he'd cut premiums by $2,500 per family. obamacare, now they're up $2,500 per family. that's a $5,000 difference. and for median family income in america, of $50,000 about, that $5,000 is a huge impact. has a huge impact. i'm going to go after getting the cost of health care to get

reined in. and by the way i'm going to do that by taking on malpractice, i'm going to do that by letting individuals be able to buy their own insurance. without just getting it from their company. and of course in health care. we have to make sure that people who have pre-existing conditions are able to get insured and that folks that get sick don't get dropped by their insurance company. there are a lot of things that we can do to improve but we don't have to have obamacare that raises taxes, we don't to have obamacare at that cuts medicare by $716 billion. we're going to get rid of obamacare, restore funding to medicare and keep the promises we made to our seniors. [cheers and applause] i have to tell you. i'm excited about what i seay head. i'm absolutely convinced the american people are going to take a good, careful look at both people running for president and they're going to ask themselves, what do i want

going forward? do i want a president that's going to continue the policies that he put in place over the last four years, that led to record levels of unemployment? what, now, 43 straight months above 8%. did you see the jobs report this morning, by the way? 95,000 i believe net new jobs created and almost 400,000 people dropped out of the work force altogether. it's simply unimaginable. the president said that by this time we'd be at 5.4% unemployment. 5.4%. instead we're at about 8%. and you know the difference that that makes and how many people would be working in america? nine million people. had he been able to keep his promise, had his policies worked as he thought they would, there'd be nine million more americans working. if that had been the case, we'd have a lot better budget setting, we'd have a lot better family life in this country where people are struggling to make ends meet. we winet have many kids

wondering whether when they get home at night mom and dad will be there because two jobs, trying to make ends meet, they can't be there. wouldn't have as many seniors wondering if they'd be able to put food on the tail. we wouldn't have as many young people wondering if they could afford college next semester. we wouldn't have college combraing wondering if they could possibly find a job. look, this is important. nine million people. this president tried but he didn't understand what it takes to make the economy work. i do. i will use that experience to get americans to work again. [cheers and applause] >> at the democratic convention they had that video that said that we all belonged to the government. boy, they sure got that one wrong, didn't they? the government belongs to us.

and we -- [cheers and applause] and we value the government we have. and we pay for it, too. it ain't free. and we want that government to encourage and protect our freedoms, to honor its promises, to create the conditions that make it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs and innovators and students coming out of school to be able to begin their life. that's what i'm dedicated to doing. i love this country. i love the principles upon which it was founded. i don't want to transfer america into europe. i don't want a bigger and bigger government, more and more intrusive, telling us how to live our lives. i instead want a government which encourages individual initiative and freedom. i will be a president who will never say to you, you didn't build it. if you get the honor roll i'll congratulate you, not the bus drive that are got you to school. i believe in individual achievement. [cheers and applause]

now one more thing i just want to say to you that are going to college here. you've got friends that are going to college here and around iowa and around the country. and you're going to have a big say, you may even have the deciding say as to who the next president is. and i know that the president and his party are going to do everything in their power to convince to you vote for them. but i want you to ask this question. who is dedicated to making sure we don't pass on trillion dollars of debt to you? i am. my party is. we're absolutely committed to making sure you're able to live the american dream. the other party will promise you lots of free stuff. but then ask them, how are they paying for it? they say, we're borrowing money from china to do. that and guess who's going to pay the interest on that? guess who's going to pay the interest on that? guess who's going to pay it back all their lives? you are. look, i want the dish see a sign up there, $16 trillion in debt. thanks for making that. thanks for reminding us. by the way, governor branson

and i, we won't be paying that back, you see. we'll both be gone when that's paid back. you guys will be paying for that. you're going to pay the interest on it. you're going to pay the interest and it's going to get larger and larger until that interest swamps even more than our total defense budget. that's what's going to happen. unless we get serious about reining in the excesses of government. the president's answer, we all respect our government. but we don't want it to get so big that it crushes the dreams of the american people and i will fight for the young people of america by getting us finally on track for to a balanced budget. [cheers and applause] you guys, we're going to win this thing. this day we're stepping forward. we're taking back america. we're going to make sure that america remains the hope of the earth. we're going to keep america the shining city on the hill, that ronleds reagan spoke of. i love this country. i love the people of america. i believe in the people of

america. and we're going to take back america and keep it strong. thank you so very much. thank you! [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

♪ >> some of you are saying about this year's presidential candidates. >> although i'm an independent i vote my con she is -- conscience. i'm afraid i'm going to have to vote for the democrats because they support labor and it's what makes our country strong. >> the president, with all due respect to him, it bothers me when he said that, you know, you don't create this business. i've been a small business man for a long time.

and you sweat and the many weeks you don't have anything. what they got to remember is if that small businesses pay taxes. that's the only way you can build roads. >> i did vote for obama the last time around. i am also now disabled and i have a problem with both parties and i'm not sure who i'm going to vote for and i don't think i'm going to make that decision until i get to the polls. >> to me obama represents leadership whereas mitt romney to me represents multiple choice and indecisiveness. >> i could not vote for someone who decides to spend his first two years with both the house and the senate and he could only pass two pieces of legislation of any meaning, of which one the american people disease like. >> i don't like any of the candidates that ain't never really served in the military but they're going to send our people out to these wars.

>> bin laden may be dead, general motors may be alive, but our economy is in a coma. look, for the americans that are hurting, millions of americans that are hurting, there were no real solutions in this speech. >> you are what you do. and both of these candidates are owned by the central bankers. everybody is under the illusion, that's the difference between democrats and republicans, but it's not. they're paying good -- playing good cop, bad cop. >> mitt romney does not represent me as a single mother. he doesn't represent my daughters and i don't think that he has our best interests at heart. like the democrats and like president obama. >> in four weeks the first of the presidential debates live on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. watch and engage. next a discussion about the august jobs report. then a panel on the effectiveness of federally funded job training programs. after that, president obama and

vice president biden at a campaign event in new hampshire. now a discussion about the august jobs numbers. from "washington journal," this is about 40 minutes. host: here to talk mainly about the economy, but in particular this morning about the jobless number that came out in august. it's dropped to 8.1%. that's the broad number. what more details can you tell us about it? guest: i think this will be scene as a very disappointing report because most economists had expected that in august the economy created about 125,000 jobs. that's what people thought. and then in recent days there's been a little rising optimism, people started saying, well, maybe it's actually more like 150,000, 160,000 jobs. the reality is the number came out today and it was 96,000. so it's below the estimate,

it's still within the range of sort of estimates. it's not far from where people were thinking it was. but it's still disappointing because it's down. >> traditionally these previews that come out, i think one of them was from a.d.p., 150,000, 160,000 jobs. how normal do they track, how well do they track with the actual labor department numbers? guest: there can be variations. for example, the a.d.p. is measuring only private sector employment. a.d.p. is a company that processes payrolls. so they keep sort of a watch on what are people paying. but we saw losses of government jobs last month and that helped depress this. but estimates can be wrong. it's a big economy. you can't forget that we've got more than 300 million people, you know, scores of millions of people go to work every day. so, you really -- it's hard to get exact measurements. that's why even this -- the b.l.s. number, the bureau of labor statistics, is really kind of just an estimate that

they'll probably revise later. but we know enough. we know enough to know that with more than 12 million people unemployed, this is a slow number of jobs growth. let me just give you one other statistic on this. what we're averaging this year has been -- it's amazing how trapped in this very small range we are. since january the unemployment rate has sort of gone like this. it's 8.1%, 8.2%, 8.3%, 8.1%, 8.2%. they're all rounding errors. the job market has really stayed at a very steady level, just above 8%. and for that to persist for a whole year, it's certainly disappointing for workers. >> tracking what you said about bumping along the 8 can -point-whatever. cnn showed the track. over the course of the president's term, starting at 7.9% in january, 2009, rising

up to 10%. and then now bumping along as you say at 8.3%. 8.1% now in august. this 96,000 number, and these jobs that have been added over the course of the last year, where are they coming from? >> earlier -- guest: earlier in the year, americans were happy to see that manufacturing was looking stronger. but this time around that's not so much, manufacture something falling back some. and that's disappointing. you also just have this ongoing problem with governments don't have enough money, local and state governments have been restraining the hiring of teachers, police, fire, that sort of thing. but you're also seeing a lot of people moving toward retirement in the postal service. the post office is a big employer. and you've been having a lot of cutbacks in that as well. so we're seeing people moving out of the labor force and that's one of the things that's reflected in this report. when think, well, if we didn't

have all that much job growth in august, how is it that the unemployment rate came down? the unemployment rate measures how many people are seeking work and if you're retired, if you're a postal worker who is now considered a full-time retiree, then you're no longer in the labor for example of the -- force. so you're not looking for a job. and that's what allows that unemployment rate to drift down. we're really, as i say, in this narrow range where these changes are -- there's just no big breakout. every month it's almost like everybody keeps waiting for when is the month when we really start to add jobs? and it just keeps chugging along, not horrible, but bad when you have more than 12 million people unemployment. host: our phone lines are open to talk about marlin. 202-737-0001 for democrats, republicans 202-737-0002 and independents and others

202-628-0205. a quick headline that i read this morning. it said that we're 96,000 jobs added but they mentioned people ending job searchings. isn't that typical for late summer, june, july, july and august? things kind of grind to a halt. guest: also there's a strange thing happening where you have this overlay of demographs. a lot of baby boomers are a big part of the population. and boomers are getting older. they're actually starting to give up, move out of the labor force and just declare themselves unemployed. if you lost your job as say an auto working in 2008, 2009, and you've been looking for a job for three or four or five years, maybe you were 58 when you got laid off. but now you're 62, 63, you're just out. you haven't found real employment and people are just starting to collect social security. we've seen a big surge in the people who are collecting disability payments, social security, s.s.i. so you're seeing more people move out of the labor force and

just say, i'm out. i'm done. or even in the case of some younger people, you might decide to stay home with the kids, that it's just not wort looking for a job right now. and again with the baby boomers, there are a number of people who are not really trying that hard to get into the full time labor force because they have elder care issues. we have a lot of people looking after multigenerational families where you might be watching the kids and you're watching your parents so you just withdraw from the work force. host: as baby boomers age out and naturally retire, not just give up, doesn't that -- won't that create more of an opportunity for the work force to extend? guest: that's why we see the unemployment rate down to 8.1%. now, if you're an employer and you're looking ahead to the future and you think that your business looks good, you don't want to see talent leaving the labor force. you would rather see people saying, gosh, i want to work until i'm 70 because there are lots of opportunities, i still have something to contribute.

it's better for the economy to have an enthusiastic, engaged work force that wants to work but if people see the economic reality is they haven't found anything that's worth doing, i mean, that pays enough to pay for your gas to get to the job, to pay for your clothes to wear to work, then you have a lothosm businesses? are they holding their cars and waiting until after the election? guest: there is a great sense of holding back. corporations are sitting on cash. waiting on the fiscal cliff that congress needs to address. if we do not do something to fix that fiscal cliff, we could drop off and have a recession next year. pretty much everybody says that. a lot will happen all once. many people think we are

sliding into recession. they are waiting to see what happens with congress and the election and what is happening in europe. there is a sense of treading water. the unemployment rate is bouncing between 8.2% and 8.1%. -- 8.1% and 8.3%. caller: good morning. host: you are on the air. go ahead with your question, robert. caller: that lady brought up a valid point about people jumping ship and going to the republican tea party in the second year of obama's administration. she said obama has not accomplished anything. the tea party gridlocked our

government, which they are republicans. they openly stated they would not work with this president. all they all wanted to do was to get him out. why do they expect a vote from anybody? their job is to work in it by patterson manner and accomplish things that help this country, not gridlock our government. host: robert, thank you for the call. guest: there is such gridlock in congress that many businesses have been holding back. they want to see the stimulus environment. the idea that there will be

mandatory cuts that will start to kick in for government spending. those cuts could be dramatic for defense contractors. a lot of businesses say, "i do not want to be adding workers at this time if i lose a business contract." the gridlock has been a lot of impact of the employers' thinking. host: rita, a republican. caller: i am retired and 77 years old.

>> it is not clear how reducing the deficit leads to more jobs. overall, a stronger economy and less debt is a general economic environment and. if you cut government spending for contractors, the immediate impact tends to be to depress jobs. it really has not been to the best i have heard anything new or different from the policies we have seen so far. >> does the report from this morning break down the job losses? guest: no. i have not had time to go deep

into this. manufacturing employment edged down by 15,000. so, that is pretty disappointing for the whole economy. they tend to be higher paying jobs. it helps the restaurant's. when you lose those kinds of court manufacturing jobs -- that is an indicator. one of the things that makes this confusing between now and the election -- one of the big things that has been holding back corporations from hiring more, from feeling more confident has been the situation in europe. it has an effect on our job

situation. it is a pretty serious recession going on their. they are a big trading partner to the united states. countries in the european union are going into a serious recession. just yesterday, we got some pretty encouraging news out of europe. the european central bank said it would make -- it would be positive. be stock-market shot up yesterday. you're looking at what is happening in august. it is possible that he might have businesses do a little bit better about doing business. if europe was falling off the cliff, maybe i can go for. if stock prices are rising,

maybe i can afford to expand a little bit more. next week, there is a big court hearing in germany about the constitutionality of all these various moves in europe to bail governments out ensure things up. -- and shore things up. there are still very many steps to go coming out of europe. we justice -- we just have to see how that plays out. >> let's go to cincinnati on a republican line. >> i am glad i got through. first-time caller. unlike most callers, i will tell you i am retired military. i have been laid off for the last 20 months.

and these unemployment figures -- is the majority of that number based on those that are actually unemployment and on a system? and given the process with unemployment and standing in for the first time ever, that really frustrated me. i was very irritated with unemployment. it prompted me to quit. there are baby boomers. there are middle aged folks who have been laid off. from jobs that may like $50 an hour. there are hundreds of jobs available in this city, driving around. they are all minimum wage, or maybe they paid $10 an hour. it is easier for folks to get government entitlements than to

pursue doing that work. the company actually has the opportunity now to selects who they want. it is very difficult to be 50- plus try to get into a job. the company look said it like, we will only have this individual for 10 years and they will retire. host: how long have you been out of work? caller: 20 months. guest: this is one of the difficult problems for the economy. because stock prices have not been great, you have a lot of people whose retirement funds are not where they thought they would be. their earnings have not risen very much. a lot of people feel like they have to work longer and they have to stay in the work force. but they have jobs that might be open to people. you have this intergenerational problem.

people who are younger, 40ish people who wish the 60-year-old will retire. but they are looking at their savings and thinking, no, i cannot retire. there are intergenerational tensions there. if you are over 50, that is in your in box. there are some employers that may be reluctant to spend a lot of money training or retraining a person they think may only be in the work force for five or 10 more years. they will get more work out of a younger person that they feel like they can train and hang onto for a longer time. there are all kinds of aging issues, shall we say, where older people feel they are discriminated against, the only younger people feel hired and

there are also younger people who feel they cannot get a break because the older people will not go away. host: democrat's line. good morning. caller: good morning. i just went to say, i am a veteran. i went through a training program through a community college and i work for a boat manufacturer. the boat manufacturer that i worked for -- they are hiring like crazy. i mean, last year, they said florida would have record tourism from the people from canada. construction is the only thing down in florida. i thought it was odd that rick scott was not invited to the republican convention, but gov. charlie crist was invited to the

democrat election. -- to the democrat convention. people have to be trained for the jobs. they have to know how to run them. host: alright. i will let you go there. guest: that is a very important point, the skills mismatch. a skilled machinist, one that uses computer-control equipment -- those are really skilled jobs. they are really valuable workers. and we do not have enough skilled workers. there was a recent report from the federal reserve bank of new york that said up to one-third of the unemployment in this country can be explained by this mismatch between the job that is open and the workers who are available. in other words, the unemployment rate would drop by a third if we could only get people into the jobs that exist. but there is not enough trained

workers to fill them. this is an issue of job training. how do we get the workers that we need out of the work force that we have? openings is really one of the big challenges for the economy. host: a report came out yesterday for the world economic forum. they looked at a number of factors which call that -- caused that drop. things that caused economic competitiveness for the united states. there were a number of different factors. there was the inadequately- educated workforce. if there was another factor. be tax rates and the inefficient government bureaucracy. and in that, they look at the gridlock in washington.

>> there are lots of government- related problems with the jobs of mismatched, too. many critics would say this all means to be streamlined and focused so we can match up who was available to work with the skills that are needed. for example, in the energy sector. there are a lot of jobs. there are all these jobs that are booming and opening up in places like north dakota where they cannot get enough workers. and then there are countries where you have far more jobs available than workers. trying to solve these mismatches in an efficient way -- if government were working better, let's say you might be able to cut through some of this bureaucracy and the inefficiencies theire. but it is very tough for

congress to get anything done these days. probably until the election cycle is over, we will not see much progress in those areas. host: next up, david from north carolina. he is an independent. caller: marilyn, nice to talk to you. i love npr and i love c-span. i definitely agree with you that congress's inability to act is the worst problem along with businesses not hiring and the skills mismatch. another point is this idea that somehow government regulations -- precisely environmental regulations -- are stunting job growth. i do not think we are really seeing that. i think about 2% to 3% of public job growth was the result of

regulations. i do not think that is necessarily true that it is regulation. i read an article about government intrusion and regulations. then he testified at a senate hearing, saying the same exact thing. when you file all the paperwork with the regulatory bodies, regulation is not a concern for his business. with future talks on regulatory policy and how you look at that. guest: when businesses list the issues holding back your business -- the thing that comes up is a lack of demand. they do not really talk about -- i'm sure obviously businesses would have any number of things they would like to have better. you know, surveys do not show

that taxes or regulations rise to the top of the list. when you say to small businesses what is holding you back, what's the problem, they basically say there is not enough people coming in the door. we need more customers. we need more demand. the question is, how do you get that demand back? this goes back to the europeans. if you have customers in europe that buy your products, if you are a general electric, and you want customers in you're buying your parts, your equipment, and to have your eye and a depression -- that's going too far. a significant recession a fax to. china has been slowing down a great deal. although we import a great deal, we also assailed the -- sell things. the economy is not slowing down.

that is another problem for u.s. businesses. is the press is that demand. so, this has really been a very much a demand-driven recession where there are not enough customers coming in the door, ringing the bells. host: just a couple more minutes with marilyn geewax. the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.1% with 96,000 jobs added in august. we have a tweet from ron. he says -- in time most of those will be forced to adjust our standard of living down. let's get to a couple more calls year. cliff in maryland, republican line. go ahead. caller: i think things for the last 29 months have been going in a positive direction, even

though it is not what we want us a country. but it is going in a positive direction, opposed to what we had going before. is amazing to hear people talk and support various candidates. i think that a bomb -- and i am a republican -- i think obama has done the best that he could. i think we really need to look at mitt romney's record. ok? i think that mitt romney has put more people in poverty from his business activities than obama will ever have. that is all i have to say. host: ok. let's get a couple calls your. gary is on the democrats' line. hi, gary. caller: yes, i have a question. do you believe the gridlock in congress has prohibited president obama from doing a

much better job than he has done at the present time? guest: again, i do not want to get into politics. that is not my area. but there are a lot of unresolved issues out there. if they were resolved, it would provide a little more certainty so they could go forward. it is pretty clear that somewhere along the line, something is going to change as far as our tax returns. what would it be two years from now? that is hard to set. there are all sorts of issues. everything from unemployment benefits extension. those are starting to run out. we had up to 99 weeks. they were firing now. they were new to that limit. some of that may start to affect the economy. people who had been able to go to the grocery store.

if they are no longer getting their unemployment check, will they be able to buy gasoline, groceries, those kinds of things. that will impact retailers. if congress does not re-up those, if congress does not address the issue of the fiscal cliff, there are a lot of reasons why businesses are looking for clarity from congress. i think everything is pretty much on hold. i do not expect anyone to take on the tax structure between now and election day. host: let's get to one more picture. tony is on our independent line. good morning. >caller: the problem we have here is the people who want the jobs and need the jobs cannot get the jobs. you have to compete with these foreign labor pools. i do not know if this is se